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What do you think should happen to Bambo Harris?

Officials want public's opinion on plans to demolish local housing project

HAMILTON — The Butler

Metropolitan Housing Authority

is holding a public meeting Wednesday to discuss its plans to demolish and redevelop a vacant housing development along Hamilton's East Side riverfront.

The meeting will be held at 1:30 p.m. on the second floor of Neighborhood Housing Services, 100 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

BMHA officials have said they hope to begin demolishing Bambo Harris — a more than 140-unit Front Street development of empty, boarded-up public housing — by the end of the year.

During a public meeting in May, authority officials said they are considering applying for state dollars — such as Clean Ohio Revitalization Funds — to help pay for the estimated $1.4 million demolition.

Tony Blaine, executive director of the BMHA, said consultants hired to help the agency in its efforts will be on hand Wednesday with redevelopment concepts for the site, which spans nearly six city blocks.

"They will present everything they have gotten together at this point and be there to answer any questions (the public) may have pertaining to what we are doing," Blaine said. "We'd like to get as much input from the community as we can."

Meanwhile, the BMHA is in the midst of searching for funds to help pay for the site's redevelopment.

Included in those efforts is a fourth attempt at a federal HOPE VI grant which could be worth up to $20 million.

For the past three years, the authority has been trying to convince the Department of Housing and Urban Development that it is worthy of up to $20 million in grant funds to pay for Bambo Harris' redevelopment.

The development was closed in 2000 due the presence of lead and asbestos.

Although the BMHA is again attempting to land a multi-million grant from HUD, officials said they are now putting more of their energy into forming partnerships with local stakeholders interested in seeing the site revitalized.

All organizations and citizens are invited. For more information, call (513) 868-5228.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2186 or lbernard@coxohio.com.